Saturday, June 11, 2011

Writing a Novel is a lot like Falling in Love

I’ve recently started a new WIP (work in progress for those non writer readers).I was sitting at work sorting through e-mails in the rare half second pause between one call and the next and I found my focus was far far away from seeing if the examiner had adjusted the claim I’d asked for or not.

Where was my focus, you ask?It was lost in a swamp staring down at a Teflon wrapped body halfway reclaimed by the earth that had important secrets to share.It got me thinking about how similar writing a novel is to that shiny stage in the beginning of a relationship when your attention is focused on the object of your affection.

Here is a short list of the similarities that struck me:

-You spend every spare moment thinking about or daydreaming up where things might be going or will end up.

-Every time you think of about time spent on it/with them you can’t help but smile at the way it/they make you feel.Alive/happy/special/interesting/engaged.

-Little random things during your day remind you of it/them.

-Timing and commitment can either ruin things or allow them to thrive.

-The story/man or woman can help us feel confident or turn is into an insecure mess.

-Something can always be learned from our failures to help us grow and give us strength.

-When we find the right one and things really click it changes our life.

They say when you find what you love you’ll never work another day in your life. (they must never have had to edit!)What is your passion?What gets you out of bed and makes you feel alive?